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1983-84 NHL season
The 1983-84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals. Not since World War II travel restrictions caused the NHL to drop regular season overtime games in 1942-43 had the NHL used overtime to decide regular season games. Starting this season, the NHL introduced a five minute extra period of overtime following the third period in the event of a tied game. If the game remained tied after the five minute extra period, it remained a tie, until the NHL shootout arrived in the 2005-06 season. Overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs remained unchanged. Regular season The Edmonton Oilers ran away with the best record in the league, and for the third straight year set a new record for most goals in a season, 446. The Oilers' new captain Wayne Gretzky was once again breaking records and re-writing the record book with his name. This season saw Gretzky score at least one point in the first 51 games of the season, a mark that is often compared to Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak in Major League Baseball. During those 51 games, Gretzky had 61 goals and 92 assists for 153 points, which is exactly three points a game. He also won his fifth straight Hart Trophy and his fourth straight Art Ross Trophy. Edmonton Oilers defenseman Paul Coffey becomes the third defenseman to score 100 points in a season. The Calgary Flames play their inaugural season at the Olympic Saddledome (later the Canadian Airlines Saddledome, now the Pengrowth Saddledome). Prior to the season, the St. Louis Blues were purchased by Harry Ornest, keeping the team from moving to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and remaining in the Missouri city, where it remains to this date. Final standings Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes Prince of Wales Conference Clarence Campbell Conference Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Leading goaltenders Stanley Cup playoffs Playoff bracket ]] Finals ''Edmonton wins series 4–1 and Stanley Cup'' ''Mark Messier (Edmonton) wins Conn Smythe Trophy' NHL awards All-Star teams Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1983-84 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *Geoff Courtnall, Boston Bruins *Tom Barrasso, Buffalo Sabres *Hakan Loob, Calgary Flames *Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings *Sylvain Turgeon, Hartford Whalers *Bob Rouse, Minnesota North Stars *Brian Lawton, Minnesota North Stars *Dirk Graham, Minnesota North Stars *Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens *Claude Lemieux, Montreal Canadiens *John MacLean, New Jersey Devils *Ken Daneyko, New Jersey Devils *Patrick Flatley, New York Islanders *Kelly Hrudey, New York Islanders *Pat LaFontaine, New York Islanders *Peter Sundstrom, New York Rangers *James Patrick, New York Rangers *Marty McSorley, Pittsburgh Penguins *Doug Gilmour, St. Louis Blues *Russ Courtnall, Toronto Maple Leafs *Doug Lidster, Vancouver Canucks *Cam Neely, Vancouver Canucks Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1983-84 (listed with their last team): *Guy Lapointe, Boston Bruins *Tony Esposito, Chicago Blackhawks *Rick MacLeish, Detroit Red Wings *Billy Harris, Los Angeles Kings *Blaine Stoughton, New York Rangers *Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers *Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers *Guy Chouinard, St. Louis Blues *Michel Larocque, St. Louis Blues *Dale McCourt, Toronto Maple Leafs *Darcy Rota, Vancouver Canucks See also * List of Stanley Cup champions * 1983 NHL Entry Draft * 36th National Hockey League All-Star Game * National Hockey League All-Star Game * NHL All-Rookie Team References *Hockey Database *NHL.com